Lidsville
Lidsville was Sid and Marty Krofft's third television show following H.R. Pufnstuf (1969) and The Bugaloos (1970). As did its predecessors, the series combined two types of characters. Conventional actors in makeup were filmed alongside performers in full mascot costumes, whose voices were dubbed in post-production. Seventeen episodes aired on Saturday mornings for two seasons, 1971–1973. It was shot in Six Flags Over Texas. Plot The show involved a teenage boy named Mark (Butch Patrick) who fell into the hat of Merlo the Magician (Charles Nelson Reilly) and arrived in Lidsville, a land of living hats. The hats on the show are depicted as having the same roles as the humans who would normally wear them. For example, a cowboy hat would act and speak like a cowboy. The characters' houses were also hat-shaped. The villain of the show was a magician named Horatio J. HooDoo (also played by Charles Nelson Reilly). Among other notable characters were Raunchy Rabbit (Sharon Baird in mascot, but voiced by Walker Edmiston), Weenie the Genie (Billie Hayes who also reprised her H.R. Pufnstuf role, Wilhelmina W. Witchiepoo, in one episode), and Rah-Rah the football helmet (portrayed by Jerry Maren, voiced by Lennie Weinrib). The vain,short-tempered, but somewhat naive HooDoo flew around on his Hatamaran, blasting the good citizens of Lidsville with bolts of magic (referred to as "zapping") and keeping them in fear, demanding that they pay him their Hat Checks. Mark helped the good hats resist as he attempted to find a way back home. HooDoo, trying to reclaim control of the androgynous Weenie from Mark, often enlisted the services of four Bad Hats consisting of Mr. Big, Captain Hooknose, Bella the Vampire's Cowl, and Boris the Executioner's Hood. In his high hat home, HooDoo was besieged by the taunting music of the Hat Band, as well as all of his talking knicknacks (The Parrot, Mr. Skull, the mounted alligator head, the sawed-in half lady, to list only a few). HooDoo also experienced further aggravation at the hands of his aides, the dim Raunchy Rabbit and his two-faced card guard, Jack of Clubs (a walking deck of playing cards). The show relied on an endless array of puns based on hats. Cast * Butch Patrick - Mark * Billie Hayes - Weenie the Genie * Charles Nelson Reilly - Horatio J. HooDoo * Sharon Baird - Raunchy Rabbit * Joy Campbell - Nursie * Buddy Douglas * Jerry Maren - Rah-Rah the Football Helmet * Angelo Rossitto - Mr. Big * Hommy Stewart * Van Snowden - Tonsilini * Felix Silla - Colonel Poom * The Hermine Midgets Voice cast * Walker Edmiston - Admiral Scuttlebutt, Bella the Vampire's Cowl, Big Chief Sitting Duck, Boris the Executioner's Hood, Hiram the Farmer's Hat, Hoo Doo's Parrot, Raunchy Rabbit, Jack of Clubs * Joan Gerber - Madame Ring-a-Ding, Mother Wheels, Nursie, Sawn-in-Half Lady, Twirly * Lennie Weinrib - Colonel Poom, Captain Hooknose, Mr. Big, Mr. Chow, Pierre LeSewer, Rah-Rah the Football Helmet, Scorchy the Fireman's Hat, Tex, Tonsilini Episodes Like predecessors H.R. Pufnstuf and The Bugaloos, Lidsville ran for only one season (1971-1972) on ABC, with reruns airing for two more seasons (1972-1973 on ABC, 1973-1974 on NBC). 17 episodes of the series were produced. Home Video * In 1985, Embassy Home Entertainment released two volumes of Lidsville on VHS under their Children's Treasures banner, as part of The World of Sid & Marty Krofft video collection. * In 1999, the first episode (World in a Hat) was included on VHS in Rhino Home Video's The World of Sid & Marty Krofft collection (the same collection was subsequently released on DVD in 2002). * In July 1999, one month after Rhino Home Video's release of The World of Sid & Marty Krofft, the company began releasing 2-episode VHS volumes of many of the Kroffts' shows. Volume 1 of Lidsville was released, but subsequent volumes didn't follow. * In 2004, The Complete Lidsville was issued on VHS by Rhino Home Video under their Rhino Handmade banner. This collection was a limited edition of 3,000 copies with a whopping retail price tag of $83.98. * Lidsville: The Complete Series was finally released on DVD by Rhino Home Video in the United States in January 2005. * In 2005, Rhino Home Video released a cut-down, single disc version of their The World of Sid & Marty Krofft collection titled Saturday Morning with Sid & Marty Krofft. This DVD includes the episode World in a Hat. Comic Book Series Gold Key/Whitman published five issues of a LIDSVILLE comic book. The books were a mix of old stories as well as re-workings of some of the television episodes. Although the comics were faithful to the TV series, there were some major differences: Weenie the Genie was made less of a bumbler. In the comic, it was strictly stated that he could not work ANY magic unless Mark first rubbed the ring. Boris the Executioner's hood made NO appearances in the comics at all outside of cover photos, although the rest of the Bad Hats appeared regulary. HooDoo's flunky, Jack of Clubs, was only regulated to cameo appearances and never drawn the same way each issue.He was also depicted as a single card, rather than a deck. Mommy HooDoo, who appeared in the show as a plump, matronly woman, was depicted in the comics as an emaciated hag with steel wool hair. Lidsville's population was expanded on a bit, as new characters were introduced. Most notably a bird named Hooty Hatowl, a Town Crier hat, Toulouse the artistic painter's beret,The Cap people, An armoured Knight named Sir Rip Van Helmet, and the Red-Hooded Hatpeckers. Other media * Characters from the series were featured in the live stage show The World of Sid & Marty Krofft Live at the Hollywood Bowl, which was filmed and aired as a television special. In the live show, however, Hoo Doo was portrayed by Paul Gale. When the special was broadcast on Nick at Nite in the mid '90s, scenes with the Lidsville characters were omitted. * Lidsville characters were also featured in the Ice Capades during the early seventies. * The show was parodied by HBO late night comedy program Mr. Show. * Lidsville resembles a later British series, Hattytown Tales, produced by Hattyland Enterprises & FilmFair Ltd. in 1980, which used an almost identical concept but different characters and was produced in claymation. Dreamworks is now making a Lidsville movie,with the same name. External links **** **** World of Krofft - Krofft Kollectibles Museum **** Jump the Shark **** stereogum - Talking Hats **** The Onion - "Area 36-Year-Old Still Has Occasional Lidsville Nightmare" **** Charles Nelson Reilly's official site Audio **** Operation Space Nut - Audio: Clips (WAV) **** Stuck in the '70s - Audio: Butch Patrick Interview (Embedded in page WAV) Video **** Room 34 - Video/Audio: Opening/Closing/Hat Band (Quicktime/MP3) **** Rhino - Video: Intro (Quicktime, Real Player and Windows Media) **** IFILM - Video: First 8 Minutes (Quicktime, Real Player and Windows Media) **** Rotten Tomatoes - Video: First 8 Minutes (Quicktime, Real Player and Windows Media) **** Robotkid - Video: Lidsville Remix (Quicktime) Category:Lidsville Category:Television shows